EOC campaign urges women to take the plunger

The
Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has launched a campaign to encourage women
to consider working in plumbing, engineering, construction and IT.

The
EOC believes that women workers could provide the solution to skills shortages
and is urging women to consider these industries because the rates of pay can
be double those in jobs such as childcare.

Jenny
Watson, deputy chairman of the EOC, said: “People should be able to make
choices about the jobs they want to do without being held back by outdated stereotypes.
We know that this is something people feel strongly about.

“In
a recent EOC survey, one in two women said that the careers advice they were
given when leaving school was influenced by the fact that they were female. And
92 per cent of people said they would want children to be able to make career
choices without worrying about whether jobs have traditionally been done by
women or men."

Cabinet
minister for women Patricia Hewitt said: “This government-funded campaign will
help women look positively at well-paid, traditionally male careers like
plumbing, engineering and construction and help both men and women realise that
[these jobs] aren’t just for men."

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www.eoc.org.uk

By Mike Berry